California's Children and Teachers at Risk of Losing Digital Privacy Rights

The digital privacy rights of millions of children, teachers, and staff in California are being threatened by a new legislative proposal in Sacramento.

Introduced against the backdrop of rising fears among many families and schoolchildren in California and related promises and assurances by elected officials, Assembly Bill 165 would allow any person working "for or on the behalf of" a local educational agency, including hundreds of school police officers, to search an electronic device or online account without complying with any of the CalECPA rules.

If AB 165 is enacted, it would mean:

Your emails, text messages, social media communications, photos, and more could be up for grabs without any outside oversight. Sensitive personal or family information and communications stored on phones and other digital devices would no longer be protected by CalECPA.

Students and parents might never be notified about these invasive searches.

Any information found during a search could be used or shared with law enforcement and federal agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and others.

Therefore, Common Sense Kids Action has joined a coalition of more than 55 leading civil rights, immigration, education, youth, online safety, health, labor, LGBTQ, and Muslim community organizations to make sure that legislators protect the privacy and safety of California's students, teachers, and families and say no to AB 165.

Please join us and make your voice heard by contacting your California legislators today and spreading the word.

Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century.